[Defense in Brief] Navy, Air Force begin building new long-range anti-ship weapon

The U.S. Navy and Air Force have begun building a new LRASM — long-range anti-ship missile — that utilizes an advanced targeting sensor engineered to track and destroy moving targets from great distances semi-autonomously, according to developers at BAE Systems. What started as a Lockheed Martin, DARPA and Office of Naval Research effort, the LRASM program “is developing a high-tech air and surface launched weapon for the Navy and Air Force,” said one report. “Our differentiator is that our technology can sense, identify, and help target moving ships from a great distance. With our LRASM sensor, we’ve transitioned our world-class electronic warfare capabilities from other platforms to a missile system with extremely low size, weight, and power constraints,” BAE LRASM Program Manager, Joseph Mancini, said. The LSRAM will give the Navy both a short- and long-range missile with an advanced targeting and guidance system to launch against enemy targets. Both services have long sought a longer-range missile that would allow targeting of enemy vessels while remaining out of range of countermeasures.

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Jon E. Dougherty is a political, foreign policy and national security analyst and reporter with nearly 30 years of experience in both fields. A U.S. Army veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom, he holds BA in Political Science from Ashford University and an MA in National Security Studies/Intelligence Analysis from American Military University.